UNDERSTANDING BY DESING FRAMEWORK

UNDERSTANDING BY DESING FRAMEWORK

1. Based on 7 key tenets

   • 1. Teachers think purposefully about curricular planning.
   • 2. Ability to effectively use content knowledge and skill.
   • 3. Understanding is revealed when students autonomously make sense of and transfer their learning through authentic performance.
   • 4. Effective curriculum is planned backward from long-term, desired results through a three-stage design process:
     • A. Identify Desired Results
       • • What long-term transfer goals are targeted? • What meanings should students make in order to arrive at important understandings? • What essential questions will students explore? • What knowledge and skill will students acquire? • What established goals/standards are targeted?
     • B. Determine Assessment Evidence
       • • What performances and products will reveal evidence of meaning-making and transfer? • By what criteria will performance be assessed, in light of Stage 1 desired results? • What additional evidence will be collected for all Stage 1 desired results? • Are the assessments aligned to all Stage 1 elements?
     • C. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
       • • What activities, experiences, and lessons will lead to achievement of the desired results and success at the assessments? • How will the learning plan help students with acquisition, meaning-making, and transfer? • How will the unit be sequenced and differentiated to optimize achievement for all learners? • How will progress be monitored? • Are the learning events in Stage 3 aligned with Stage 1 goals and Stage 2 assessments?
   • 5. Teachers always aim and check for successful meaning making and transfer by the learner
   • 7. The UbD framework reflects a continual improvement approach to student achievement and teacher craft.
   • 6. Regularly reviewing units and curriculum against design standards

2. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

   • 1. Why do you call it backward” design?
     • 1. Plan the learning results (Stage 1). Then, think about the assessment evidence needed (Stage 2). Finally, plan the means to the end (Stage 3).
     • 2. this approach is backward to the way many educators plan.
   • 2. I have heard that the UbD framework de-emphasizes the teaching of content knowledge and skill to focus on more general understanding. Is this your recommendation?
     • We contend that content acquisition is a means, not an end. The UbD framework promotes not only acquisition, but also the student’s ability.
   • 3. Should you use the three-stage backward design process and the UbD template for planning lessons as well as units?
     • We do not recommend isolated lesson planning separate from unit planning. We have chosen the unit as a focus for design because the key elements of the UbD are too complex and multifaceted to be satisfactorily addressed within a single lesson.
   • 4. What is the relationship between the Six Facets of Understanding and Bloom’s Taxonomy?
     • One key difference is that Bloom’s Taxonomy presents a hierarchy of cognitive complexity and The Six Facets of Understanding are used to develop, select, or critique assessment tasks and prompts.
   • 5. I find it hard to use all Six Facets of Understanding in a classroom assessment. How can I do this?
     • We recommend that teachers use only the facet or facets that will provide appropriate evidence of the targeted understanding.
   • 8. Is the UbD framework appropriate for mathematics?
     • The most commonly expressed concern is that the UbD framework seems to stress understanding to the exclusion of basic knowledge and skills. there is a need to develop understanding of the larger concepts and processes along with the basics.
   • 9. What does it take for a school or district to successfully implement the UbD framework?
     • We propose three general requirements for successful implementation of the UbD framework.
       • Help the key constituents understand the rationale for and the requirements of the UbD framework prior to moving forward.
       • Teachers must have access to highquality UbD curriculum materials.
       • Long-term and ongoing professional development
   • 7. Are textbooks important in the implementation of UbD framework?
     • A textbook should be viewed as a guide, not the curriculum. Educators are encouraged to carefully examine textbooks and use them as a resource for implementing the curriculum, rather than as the sole source.
   • 6. How can we prepare students for high-stakes standardized tests?
     • the format of the test misleads us. Indeed, the data from released national tests show conclusively that the students have the most difficulty with those items that require understanding and transfer, not recall or recognition.